Agricultural Community Giving Challenge for Food Service Agencies Addressing Needs Brought on by COVID-19

John John D'Arrigo, President and CEOD’Arrigo, CEO/President and Chairman of the Board for D’Arrigo California is partnering with the Grower Shipper Association (GSA) Foundation/Ag Against Hunger to create an Ag industry-designated charitable giving opportunity.   Our goal is to help individuals and families in our communities who are struggling from food insecurity and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Grower Shipper member, John D’Arrigo, kicked off the AG Challenge effort with generous pledges of $10K to support  the Food Bank for Monterey County and $10K to support Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley.

 

The idea of the challenge is to have others in the industry try to match John D’Arrigo’s donation to help the Food Bank for Monterey County and Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley.  “When I saw the Food Bank for Monterey County feature on the news, I realized how difficult things are right now for them and it really got me thinking.  How can I help these two organizations continue to fulfill their mission of providing shelf stable food and fresh fruits and vegetables to individuals in need?  So, I thought of the Ag Challenge,” said D’Arrigo.

As a grower, packer and shipper of fresh fruit and vegetables, D’Arrigo CA is fully operational with 100% of their employees working at the headquarters, shipping facility and fields.  Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos, Marketing and Communications states, “we do not want the corona virus to keep individuals from consuming fresh fruit and vegetables as no research or cases have shown COVID-19 to be transmitted by food, including fresh produce.  With the shelter-in-place mandate, it is our goal to support food service agencies that provide and deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to boost the immune systems of children, families and elderly as we combat this dreadful virus.”

 

The Ag Challenge will provide necessary funding to the Food Bank of Monterey County and Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley during this pandemic.  If you would like to be part of this extraordinary effort to address community needs due to COVID-19, please contact Chris Valadez

President, Grower Shipper Association or Abby Taylor-Silva, Vice President, Grower Shipper Association Policy and Communications.